Force behind landmark NJ gay rights ruling dies

1:29 AM,
Jun. 8, 2013

Richard Mack (right) and his son Peter behind the bar attached to the dance floor at the Den in 1998.

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Richard Mack, the Den nightclub owner who sued the state with his father in a landmark 1967 gay rights case, died on May 31 at age 79.

A memorial service is planned for 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Kirkpatrick Chapel on the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick.

"The Mack family should be proud of their role in helping fight for the equality and the dignity of the LGBT community as a straight ally," said T.J. Helmstetter, communications director of Garden State Equality. "Richard Mack stood up at a time when so many would not." ...